As Races end, Tea Party Plans for Next Phase

Summit Set for Newly Elected Officials

WALL STREET JOURNAL

By JENNIFER LEVITZ, CAMERON MCWHIRTER and DOUGLAS A. BLACKMON

BOWLING GREEN, Ky.—Tea-party leaders, cheering as some of their movement's most prominent figures won U.S. Senate seats in Kentucky and Florida, said Tuesday's elections were only the beginning of their quest to transform government.

"Things look good for tonight," said Jenny Beth Martin, national coordinator of the Tea Party Patriots, an umbrella group that says it has 2,800 local affiliates around the country. "No one in this movement is stopping today. This is not an endgame. This is just a beginning."

Tea-party victors included Republican Rand Paul, who claimed the Senate seat in Kentucky, and the GOP's Marco Rubio, who defeated former Gov. Charlie Christ and Rep. Kendrick Meek in Florida's three-way race for Senate.

Movement losers included Christine O'Donnell, the Republican Senate candidate in Delaware, whose comments about witchcraft embarrassed some in the movement, and Republican Carl Paladino, who lost his bid for governor of New York.

Early results signaled that despite some losses, the movement was on its way to becoming a major force in Washington and on the national political landscape. Ahead is a chaotic period as the movement's factions compete to set the agenda and influence the ranks of new members of Congress.

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